JALT2025 - Tokyo

Multilingual speaking fluctuations during European study abroad

Nov 2, 2025, 12:35 PM

30m

National Olympics Memorial Youth Center / 国立オリンピック記念青少年総合センター

Research-oriented Presentation (30-minutes) Psychology and Language Learning Room 302

Speakers

Simon Humphries (Kansai University)Prof. Tomoko Yashima (Kansai University)

Description

Speaking reticence is widely observed in Japanese English classrooms (King, 2013). A different picture may emerge among learners of languages other than English (LOTEs) experiencing study abroad (SA). This presentation focuses on two students who improved significantly at speaking English during SA in France and Germany. Both showed introspective and introverted tendencies that aided their English linguistically while studying abroad but contributed to emotional distress, challenging their ability to maintain two languages after their sojourns.

Summary

Speaking reticence is widely observed in Japanese English classrooms (King, 2013). A different picture may emerge among learners of languages other than English (LOTEs) experiencing study abroad (SA). This presentation focuses on two students who improved significantly at speaking English during SA in France and Germany. Both showed introspective and introverted tendencies that aided their English linguistically while studying abroad but contributed to emotional distress, challenging their ability to maintain two languages after their sojourns.

Presentation materials

JALT 2025 Handout PDF.pdf